The sweep of honey-stone buildings that form Bath’s Georgian crescent is home to two majestic mansions which combine as one hotel, beyond which lie a leafy garden and atmospheric spa.

In Hardy’s ‘Emminster’, ten minutes from Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, a historic priest’s house is now a restaurant-led hotel.

This long-established country house hotel with a walled garden, set in a peaceful Cumbrian village, has had an elegant refurbishment without compromising ‘its sense of history and tradition’.

A long winding drive leads past a lake to this Victorian mansion, remodelled in the 1940s in the style of a Loire château, with parkland, fountain and 17th-century dovecote.

Guests can eat and drink alfresco at the Hine family’s hotel, a Queen Anne-style mansion overlooking a willow-draped duck pond in a rural hamlet.

‘It felt like staying with friends, albeit very hip ones,’ says a Guide insider, of the Milsom family’s hotel outside Colchester, in a ‘wonderful setting’ where windows frame views of Constable’s Dedham Vale.

At the end of its mile-long drive, this Elizabethan manor house with glorious gardens and superb dining is, for many guests, the ultimate country house hotel.

‘Down country lanes and a mile-long private drive’, this Elizabethan manor house is the Miss Piggy among Robin Hutson’s quirky country house hotels (see index). Like that porcine diva, it embodies fabulosity with a dash of irresistibility and a great, big dollop of attitude.

A man for all seasons, Raymond Blanc has created something beautiful at this 15th-century manor house where he has held two Michelin stars since 1984.

With its belvedere and striking iron-lace balcony, this hotel is a distinctive presence on the quay of a port town on the Stour and Orwell estuaries.

‘The place breathes class,’ says a Guide inspector of Jake Dinsdale’s Jacobean-style country house, set high in the Yorkshire Dales on the Pennine Way.

‘Set in rolling hills, 15 minutes from Bath, Homewood is a lovely hotel,’ our inspector writes of this country house extravaganza.

In a peaceful Devon valley, this family-run historic manor house is loved for its architecture, romantic atmosphere, attention to detail and fine food.

Thirty years after they first welcomed guests to their knapped-flint former farmhouse on the edge of the marshes, Tracy and Galton Blackiston preside over a thriving hotel with Michelin-starred kitchen.

You can take tea on the ramparts or imbibe history along with a St Agnes gin in the Dungeon Bar at the Francis family’s hotel, occupying an Elizabethan artillery castle within star-shaped fortress walls.

In the same family since it was built in the early 17th century, this manor house in Thomas Hardy’s ‘vale of little dairies’ has a timeless appeal – but change has been afoot.

On the banks of the River Hodder in the Forest of Bowland, this 'cheerful, doggy' inn is chock-full of tradition, with stone-flagged floors, open fires, oak furniture and walls bedecked with paintings and hunting cartoons.

It's a scenic crossing from Oban to this island of white-sand beaches, where the one hotel stands on a hillside overlooking the harbour with views to neighbouring Jura.

You can take a cream tea on the grass in front of this homely hotel on a small, rugged island, and spot dolphins in the Sound of Iona.

'Spectacular views' across Loch Linnhe to the Morvern mountains are available from some of the rooms, from the fine-dining restaurant (Relais & Châteaux), and from the waterside gardens just across the road from this former ferry inn.

‘The situation is absolutely beautiful; perfect for wild swimmers,’ write readers this year, in praise of this remote hideaway hotel on the shores of Loch Sunart.

Whether you want a ceilidh, a hooley or a quiet read, a drink or bistro meal, a bed or bunk, the Urquhart family’s hotel, in a fishing village set amid rugged mountains on the east shore of Loch Broom, can accommodate you.

Once you have navigated the joys of this ‘rambling building’ in honey Cotswold stone, with its ‘superb spa’, cinema and choice of dining, there are the 26 different ‘rooms’ in the ‘beautiful, well-tended gardens’ to explore.

The only sounds are the soughing of the sea and the cry of gulls at this remote Georgian manse in an 'extraordinary setting' between a three-mile sandy beach and heather-clad mountains.

The apricot-coloured Georgian house, at the end of a lime-tree avenue, adds just a touch of eccentricity to a traditional country house stay.

‘The location is stunning, the views as the sun sets truly magical’ from this family-run, cliff-top hotel and spa, with acres of Scandi-style relaxation space, squashy sofas, and plenty of things to do, from relaxing in a spa pool to surfing at the beach.

This Cotswold stone country house hotel, now under the ownership of Fuller’s, retains both its charm and its hare motifs, which crop up everywhere, from pillowcases to prints.

In a beautiful setting in the Peak District, this historic country house offers a homely atmosphere and excellent value for money, which draw guests back year after year.

‘Neatness and sweetness all around, These at Prestonfield are found’, wrote Benjamin Franklin, after a stay at this 17th-century mansion in parkland under Arthur’s Seat. ‘This hotel was wonderful,’ a trusted reader waxes no less lyrical.

Built in 17th-century vernacular style, with leaded, stone-mullioned windows and rich Jacobean interiors, Max and Susan Fischer’s manor house hotel is a brilliant Edwardian pastiche.

In Thomas Hardy’s Casterbridge, this bow-windowed Georgian coaching inn enters the Guide after a £5 million make-over for the Stay Original group.

Overlooking the village pond, this golden-stone group of buildings set around a pretty courtyard ticks all the boxes for country house comforts, memorable food and good service.

Set amid gardens and woodlands, this Georgian country house has been a labour of love for Susannah and Stuart Macpherson since they first opened to guests in 2003.

A sea tractor ferries guests across the sands to this white concrete Art Deco edifice on a tidal island, built as a party venue in the 1930s, and what a swell party it is!

In the quieter north-western Lake District, against a backdrop of fields and fells, this whitewashed farmhouse B&B mixes rustic charm with romance.

A seaside hotel with serious style, Olga Polizzi’s glowing white collection of cottages and former yacht clubhouse cascading down the hillside is a cross between New England and Mediterranean Riviera.

A Norfolk icon, this19th-century windmill, rising from reed beds by the River Glaven, has wonderfully characterful guest rooms in the tower and converted outbuildings.

By many standards, Gilpin is the Lake District’s most luxurious hotel with no-expense-spared rooms, Michelin-starred dining, numerous staff, and acres of space.

The breathtakingly scenic North Coast 500 road passes the driveway to this 18th-century manse, now a small, friendly hotel, gazing over Badcall Bay.

‘When you hear that this revamped 16th-century pub on the Castle Ashby Estate is owned by Lord and Lady Northampton, you expect it to be posh with a capital P,’ writes a Guide insider – but happily no!